I will not do a couple more 8s

[Bill Heher]

This goes right along with Tim's Thud! Crud! post. Flying the Tutor and just having a nice time, good engine run, a light breeze a passable pattern- hey might as well practice my 8's- horizontals not bad, overhead lopsided. Try 1 more and sure enough- cough- silence - straight overhead.

It dropped straight down about 10 feet - then the breeze pushed it downwind- kind of gliding and dropping - hey I might save this! Started to step back - and felt a bad thing!

When it dropped vertically it looped the line behind me and i felt them sliding up my back and onto my neck- I got my left hand up and between the lines and my throat about the same time the plane hit the end of the slack- jerked nose up, stalled and plopped into the ground vertically.

Plane survived undamaged, and I survived with a couple of welts / abrasion on my neck- but it could have been real ugly! 

I will not do a couple more 8's ........

[Jack Pitcher]

Jeese, Bill, that is really frightening. Glad your OK.

Jack

[Bill Heher]

Yeah - gave me pause to think. All that clean living and pure thoughts must have paid off - oh wait it's me- well being lucky works too!

[Tim Wescott]

CSI: Flying Field?

[pat king]

Glad you came out of this with minor injuries. Our flying lines would make a good garrote. Another safety item we need to be aware of. Thanks for sharing this with us, we can keep our heads up to try to keep from experiencing you mishap.

Thanks,  Pat

[john e. holliday]

You are lucky.  I have witnessed guys grabbing lines trying to get the slack out.  Then a trip to the emergency room trying to save fingers and hands.   Early days of Rat Racing, Mr.  Meriwether carried a set of side cutters in his pocket.   Seems there was a line tangle and lines were around his sons neck.  His plane was on the ground and it was his lines.  

[Randy Powell]

Yikes!

[Jerry Leuty]

I don't know what it is but it seems that when one says; "Just one more flight," the plane goes home in pieces and we are a little saddened. When I go flying by myself I will fly, usually 5 to 7 flights, until I am tired. At 65 I am usually tired by the 5 or 6th. flight. When you have been in the air for what seems like a long time just running a tank out DO NOT give into the desire to start overhead manuevers. This will bite you every time. The fuel will just not pick up when the tank is nearly empty. Directly overhead the g's are nearly negative and the remaining fuel will fall out of the pick up range. Plus your air speed is at it's slowest point directly over your head and if it looses airspeed then from a dead or sputtering engine it will fall directly at your feet and you cannot possibly run fast enough to save it. What you need is two feet of foam rubber at that point so the spinner will have a soft landing point. Don't do it and live to fly another day.

[Balsa Butcher]

Gee Bill, where you auditioning for the show on Spike called "1000 Ways to Die"? Glad you didn't pass the audition. Ouch! 

[PJ Rowland]

1st time ive ever heard of this, I still cannot figure out how you managed to get the lines wrapped around your neck, hope your ok tho.

[Bill Heher]

PJ,
As best I can recall- it happened in about 1-2 seconds:

When the plane quit right overhead it dropped straight down for 10-15 feet. The slack in the lines dropped around my backside and when the breeze caught the plane and blew it back away fom me it pulled the slack out of the lines - and pulled the lines up from behind me.

[Tim Wescott]

I just want to know what you did to tick that plane off.  At least when my lines got mixed up they just got tangled up with each other, not with me!

[PJ Rowland]

Not to hijack the thread : Im glad to hear your alright, it is true things can happen in the blink of of an eye.

This is something I posted along time ago, but this is my story involving vertical 8's

............

I was practicing aerobatics for the state champs back in 2001 or 2000 I cant recall the exact time frame.
At that stage I was flying a .61 full span stunter, and doing my regular practice flight.

During the vertical 8's during the top half ( where I was giving full down ) I felt the line snap ! and the plane was all of a sudden
starting to do loops..... Inside ones.. - It didnt start with a loop, it sort of jerked and stalled ( imagine doing a top half of a vertical 8 with full down, then
instantly giving FULL up!  Head bang
So it was jerking around the sky like doing really REALLY large triangles.. I had to think quickly, I didnt want to ruin an engine or a prop, and I felt like i had some time to think....... - I could see the line hanging loose at the handle.. Not really thinking about anything but saving the model.. I grabbed the line with my free hand wrapping it around my fingers to try to fly it like a kite!
To my surpise ...... I couldnt really control it... I could only fly it up or.. level.. ( why cant I fly down ? ) I had no idea.. but it was.. semi safe, I was doing some weird, large loops, semi triangle style things, with this huge stunter and the lines wrapped around my fingers and hands, jerking it about the sky.

At this stage, obviously I had several people watching, either for their amusement, or concern for my well being, or just wanting to see an almightly crash..  - I wasnt sure which ..
Im fighting with this aircraft, never having real control of it.. Remember I could only fly Up or level, i had ZERO down .. PERIOD.  Huh
I was trying to keep it off the ground and in the air as long as possible.. Being that I was all the way up to the vertical 8's i was sure If i oculd only hold out for a few more moments the engine would cut, and it would be saved.. ( surely a crash with a stopped engine would do less damage I thought )

Now how will I be able to land this thing? I cant even really control it let alone LAND it.
A good friend of mine Brian Gardner ( of Bristunt fame ) was watching all this happen and was preparing himself to catch it.. if I could get it in his general direction..

So the moment drew ever closer.. I could feel the engine speeding up as if its going to quit...... I was doing loops and wingovers.. to save my hand which was now cut up a lot.. - Suddenly.. then engine quit in the middle of a wingover...... - I remembered I had up - or level and nothing else.. no down.. at all..

So I let the model dive in the wingover, and at the very VERY last moment.. with about 3 feet to go. I did a regular flat bottom pullout ( if you fly serious stunt you know what i mean by flat pull out, precise handle movement to rotate the plane to level flight with no bobble or up / down motions )

I did this great flat bottom about 2 feet from the ground, and held the down line.. ( which only yelded me level flight.. ) and the plane coasted down .. onto the ground...... for what someone later said " was a perfect landing "

A huge applause errupted!!! I was shocked.. Brian came running over to check my hand..... asking what happend.. I was just in shock..
All I wanted to know ..was " what broke "

Upon investigation.. what had happened was.. the leadout had broken off from the bellcrank, and was jammed at the leadout guides!

What I experienced with my limited control was : up, or level - When i took up the slack of the broken leadout I could neautral out the controls and acheive level flight.. - Of sorts..

Still to this day I get people saying " Hey do you remember.. " - I jsut wish someone video taped it..

True story..

[Allen Brickhaus]

I always keep a stop watch running on my wrist watch and do not do anything after a designated time period.  That times depends upon engine run and your choice of ounces of fuel.

Allen Brickhaus

[ray copeland]

Bill, glad your okay!!  I have smacked a few into the ground doing the same thing. Also have had flying lines tangled around my arms and stooge lines around my ankles but nothing like what happened to you!  Stay safe!!    Ray

[Chucky]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Bill.  It's easy to forget how potentially dangerous the lines can be.

[Brian Massey]

Bill, man, glad you're OK!

Before you fly again, stop by your local vet and buy one of those funnel thingys and put it around your neck; that will keep you safe. 

Brian

[Steve Helmick]

Bill...I disavow all knowledge of any Twodoor Two that may have caused bodily harm! 

I'd suggest working on your tank until it gives a good burp or three before shutdown...and then learn to listen to what it's trying to tell you.

Glad you're ok!  I got a similar scare while dirt bike riding once...a broken off branch to the throat. A little be over, and the jugular would have been leaking. It does make you think...  Steve